A Brother's Vow
by In a Quandary
Summary: Limits do not exist where his devotion to his beloved sister is concerned. Set at the very end of episode 38, 'The Showdown Island.' Saya/Kai siblinghood vignette. One-shot, Complete.


**A/N:** A nice short piece to introduce myself to the world of Blood Plus. Explores Kai's motivations when he made that particularly illuminating speech after the battle with James on Christina Island.

**Plot Summary:** Limits do not exist where his devotion to his beloved sister is concerned. Set at the very end of episode 38, 'The Showdown Island.' Saya/Kai siblinghood vignette. One-shot.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Blood Plus.

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**A Brother's Vow**

"_If your wound doesn't heal, let me become the bandage to cover it and protect you forever."_

Kai didn't need to look around to know that David and the others were suddenly wearing expressions of shock and bewilderment. The implicit meaning of his declaration was clear. There was no need to state it outright; everyone knew what the words 'protect' and 'forever' meant when phrased together like that.

_Let me become your Chevalier, Saya._

Ever since Riku's transformation, the idea had stewed in the back of his mind, gaining form and solidarity the more time passed and the peculiars of Saya's situation became apparent. It was ironic, really, that he who had so vehemently denied the fact that his family – Saya, Riku, even his father – were chiropteran would request to become one now. He was just a stupid kid then, too caught up with the foreign monstrosities of the chiropteran race to realize that some bonds were beyond blood, beyond race. Human or chiropteran, they were still family.

And he was on the verge of losing the last remaining member of said family.

_Saya._

Coming to terms with her inhuman nature also meant that his eyes were opened to a terrible revelation: his days with her were numbered. Even if she were to survive the upcoming confrontation with Diva – and he would do every possible thing to _ensure_ that she did – she would still succumb to the recurring thirty-year sleep that marked the life cycle of a chiropteran Queen. Thirty years would pass as she slumbered on, oblivious to the world, while his skin became increasingly weathered and creased, his body losing its youthful litheness to the heavy stoutness of a middle-aged man. Then another thirty years would pass, she remaining unchanged while the ravages of time turned his hair white and his bones brittle. Would he still be around after the following bout of thirty years, or would the curse that was his human mortality have claimed him by then?

And that was not to mention his frailty in combat. Instead of the strong, reliable protector that he'd desired to be – that _Hagi_ was, he thought with no small amount of resentment – he was nothing more than a harmless distraction, a hostage that a clever enemy could take advantage of. That he could now wield his father's prized Colt M1911 effectively was meaningless. After all, how many times had Saya herself come to his rescue, deflecting with her sword an otherwise lethal blow in the nick of time?

It was positively emasculating, this _uselessness_ of his. Kai was a man of action; unlike those of other Red Shield operatives, his talents did not lie in the fields of information collecting or leadership. Yet for all his capabilities, he could not even fulfill his personal promise to Saya – to be by her side always, whatever the circumstances. There was always some obstacle that got in the way of that, be it an impossibly powerful enemy, or some chiropteran-related issue that required her participation but not his, or –

Or the fact that he was merely, pathetically _human_.

The solution was straightforward – for him to become her Chevalier. Only then would he no longer be constrained by the limitations of his human body – to cower in a corner as she clashed with her inhuman adversaries, or to wither away as she emerged, newborn-like, from her hibernation every three decades. He was not ignorant of the consequences; he could never again savour the pleasures of well-cooked tempura or a hearty ten-hour sleep, his only sustenance existing in the form of his fellow humans' blood. Like Saya, Haji and the dear, departed Riku, he would remain forever suspended in time, never to acquire the physical marks of maturity. But those were worthy sacrifices to make if it would grant him his deepest and most fervent wish – to protect his beloved sister for the rest of eternity.

Becoming a monster in the process was simply an unfortunate side-effect.

But even as these thoughts raced through his mind with the speedy familiarity of repeated contemplation, he knew what Saya's answer would be. Already he could see the apology in the grim tilt of her chin, the darkening of her wine-hued eyes. With a finality that spoke of immeasurable sorrow, she turned away from him and uttered the two most devastating words in the language of humankind:

"_I'm sorry."_


End file.
